Never Too Late
by rubyredtears
Summary: Sasuke is an emo with a mentally disturbing past, what happens when he moves to a new country and begins to have feelings for the most popular guy in school? And what happens when his past comes back to haunt him? I suck at summaries! PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Sasuke's a cute little emo with a mentally disturbing past. When his guardian decides that it's time for a change, Sasuke finds himself attending a private art and sports school in Japan. Now he finds himself facing adversity unlike anything in the city of New York, not only that, but slowly he begins to fall for the captain and quarterback of the school's soccer and football team! What does fate have in store for our lovable antisocial emo? And what happens when Sasuke's past comes back to haunt him?

Okay warning you now, this is yoai people, don't like? Don't read. And yes this is a high school fic, cuz I like playing with the characters in a different setting. Also I'm aware that the characters aren't always going to be exactly in character, but that's what happens when you write fan fiction most of time.

And also, if you flame me, at least put a name on it so I know who it's from, I hope not to write so badly that it comes to that but this is my first fanfic, so constructive criticism is appreciated!

So enjoy and reply! I'm always looking to improve my writing so any tips are welcomed!

Prologue: Snow White Queen

He was a mystery.

Really that's all that could be said of him. No one knew anymore than that. He didn't talk to anyone, not even teachers. They had given up on calling on him during class because either he would ignore them or would simply look at them like they were stupid. He didn't have any friends, but really it wasn't for any of the normal reasons.

He wasn't retarded, he was actually the smartest kid at his school. But he wasn't a nerd either. No quite the opposite actually. Just because he didn't talk to people it didn't mean others didn't talk about him.

Most who see him are instantly awed. He was beautiful. Not hot, not sleazy, not pretty. But beautiful. He had a graceful elegant beauty that would have been expected of nobility in Europe that lived in tall castles with sprawling gardens during the late 1800's, not on a male teenager with an attitude problem in 2009. His features were refined, with perfectly sculpted eyebrows and long lush lashes that surrounded deep ebony eyes. A small cute nose, full plump pink lips, and defined cheek bones completed his face. His dark waist length ebony hair contrasted gorgeously with snow white skin that was completely blemish free. His body was far too curvy for a guy but too flat for a girl. He had thin girly wrists that he hated and his guardian used as proof that he was too skinny. His shoulders were narrow, as were his slim hips. His flat abdomen was made even more feminine by the girly waist that he had tried and failed to get rid.

No, really the only reason he didn't have friends was quite simply due to the fact that he didn't want any, not here in any case. He found people here too fake, trying to do anything to conform to society. His guardian had watched Sasuke chase everybody that could have potentially cared for him away with a silent death threat that radiated from his eyes if they even dared to come within another inch of him.

Yes, Kakashi Hatake had taken in the boy when he ten years old.

Back then Kakashi had been a partying bachelor, a free spirit if you will. The only reason he had entered that orphanage was because his sister had begged him to go take a look at the kid.

_"Please Kakashi, I would take him in but I'm moving to teach in Japan, and I won't have time to take care of him properly. He's been there for four years now, and I t__hink he would be good for you, p__lease!"_

Even then he hadn't gone. It was only after Tsunada resorted to violent threats did he actually go and visit.

Because like it or not, his big sister was frighteningly strong.

He knew right when he saw the kid that he would have to let him come home with him. He couldn't just leave him there; those sad ebony eyes would have haunted him for the rest of his life. So really resistance was futile.

And really he didn't regret it; the teenager just didn't like new people. He was a completely different person when it was just the two of them or they were around the rest of his admittedly crazy family. He was sort of childish, stubborn, dramatic, and had a smart sarcasm that made you smile and want to hit him over the head at the same time.

Of course, he wasn't naïve about his looks, and used them to his advantage in any given situation. His eyes would grow wide and tear up and he would pout that adorable pout that no parent could say no to, enabling him to obtain whatever he wanted.

But he knew that the kid would need more than just the few people he had now. Really when Kakashi had taken him in, it was as if he became his actual son. His sister and brother both thought of him as a nephew and he in turn thought of them as his true aunt and uncle. Kakashi's best friends Gai and Asuma looked after the kid like he was their own, hell Gai was his godfather after all.

But the point was that the kid _would_ need more than that. He needed friends his own age, a girlfriend or a boyfriend, (he had already been told very clearly that he was bi.) which is why Kakashi decided to move them to his home town. A change would be good for him and besides, all their family lived in Konoha, Japan. Besides the ocean, the beach, the sun might be good for the both of them.

He'd be damned if he let his son continue destroying himself. And come hell or high water, Sasuke would begin to heal, whether he liked it or not.


	2. Chapter 2

Yay! Chapter 1!!!! I'm loving this man!!! Don't worry about me i'm on a sugar high! Probably from the four glasses of sweet tea i just drank but one can never be too sure! Hehe, sweet tea is my crack juice if anyone is wondering... which you're probably not but i said it anyway!!!

So warnings for his chapter: not much, hints of shonen-ai and a bit of language, but other than that nothing really... yet.

Thank you who reviewed, your comments made me feel all warm and tingly and made me smile like crazy! So please keep it up and i'll try to update as fast as possible, but i might be slightly delayed because my mother just had surgery for breast cancer and i'm taking care of her! But don't worry, it won't be long between updates because i hate it when people post stories and then don't update until five months later...

Anyways on to the story!

Chapter 1: The Pros and Cons of Breathing

Whoa, I want to hate you half as much as I hate myself  
But you know that I could crush you with my voice

Stood on my roof and tried to see you forgetting about me  
Hide the details I don't want to know a thing

I hate the way you say my name like it's something secret  
My pen is the barrel of the gun.  
Remind me which side you should be on

It took Sasuke a whole two and half seconds, once off the plane and out of the airport, to come to the conclusion that Konoha was nothing like New York.

In New York people mostly kept to themselves, there were stares but those were of the wanting nature, after all people from New York rarely paid attention to anything if they did not desire it to some extent.

So it came as a surprise that people here, in this arguably strange place, were staring at him in genuine curiosity.

Sasuke didn't really know what to make of the looks at first, but, seeing as they weren't posing any kind of threat, he simply ignored them in favor of taking in his surrounding atmosphere as his guardian drove through the city.

It wasn't a small city, not as big as New York, but in no way small. However by watching the people as they walked the streets, many stopping to talk to one another, Sasuke immediately felt like he was in a small rural town. The ones where every one knows everyone else's life story and the kids have grown up knowing their peers since they were in diapers. The kind that made being the new kid in town awkward and much more difficult than it should have been.

There were no huge corporate buildings, no towering skyscrapers. The buildings were made of red brick, not gray concrete, and were modest in size. The more important buildings, such as the public library and City Hall, were slightly larger and looked as though they had more architectural thought put into them. Every where on the sides of the roads there were markets that looked as if they sold everything from food to electronics.

There was vegetation here, unlike in New York where everything was surrounded by concrete. Everywhere he looked some part of his vision consisted of green. In addition to grass there were flowers of every color and trees of every kind. Truth be told this city had more plant life then Sasuke had ever seen in his life, sad yes, but true.

Each house had its own yard, a rarity in the overpopulated city he had grown up in. Hell even the air here was different, it was fresh and to Kakashi, who looked over at Sasuke before fixing his eyes on the road, it was home. To Sasuke, however, it almost sickeningly sweet, overbearing and suffocating, and though he didn't necessarily care about New York, he found himself almost missing the smells and noise, that this place lacked. It was quiet and peaceful and seemed as if it would leave far too much time for introspection. 'And introspection' Sasuke thought as they pulled into the driveway of their newly acquired house, with it's homey shutters and perfectly manicured lawn, 'only leads to memory, which is definitely not a good thing.'

---------------------

Sasuke didn't mind the move actually. After all it's not as if he was leaving anything behind of importance.

What he did mind, however, was how he and Kakashi now left at the same time in the morning to go to the same place, since he was teaching English at the high school he would be attending, which meant that instead of the annoying radio that came on to wake him up, it was Kakashi. And if he thought the radio was annoying, then this was hell.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock…..

And on and on it went, just a steady consistent stream of knock's that would not _shut the hell up_!

So giving up and taking his head from under the pillow Sasuke screamed, "OKAY I'M UP GOD DAMMIT!"

Kakashi poked his head through the door after opening it and smiled, Sasuke was not a morning person. "Good morning to you too darling, now go get a shower, we wouldn't want you to be late for your first day, besides we have to get there early to surprise Jairyra, Gai, and Asuma."

Sasuke groaned, "But at this rate, we'll be there for two hours before the school day even starts!"

He stubbornly let his head fall back to the pillow and pulled the covers over his head.

Kakashi sighed and calmly walked over to the end of the bed and ripped the covers out of Sasuke's grip.

"Otou-saaaaaaaaaaaan!" Sasuke whined, his eyes going wide, and his lower lip jutting out in that familiar pout that almost had him giving in.

Almost.

"Come on now, I'm making your favorite breakfast, French toast and strawberries." Kakashi grinned and laughed as Sasuke jumped up and ran to the bathroom.

After a warm shower Sasuke dried his long black hair and made sure his bangs swept to the side in the traditional emo way. He lined his eyes with eyeliner and changed into a pair of tight, torn girl jeans (hey he had stopped trying to fight his girlish figure a long time ago, beside he couldn't argue that the style didn't look good on him) with a long black and white long sleeved shirt with a black studded belt over it. He put on his black converse and ran downstairs.

There on the table sat heaven. Not literally, I mean Sasuke didn't even believe in heaven, but figuratively and adjectively, it was heaven. Two pieces of French toast with extra cinnamon and sugar and a bowl of fresh strawberries. Just the way he liked it. He sat down and pushed his sleeves up because they were so long they went over his hands.

"What's with breakfast dad? I mean it's not like you to get worked up over the first day of school." Sasuke asked, sitting Indian style in his seat and biting into a strawberry.

"Not much really, I just figured since it's your first day in a new country, I could at least make you breakfast." Kakashi said with a smile that instantly let Sasuke now something was up… but he would let it go for favor of his breakfast, he would question his dad later.

"Oi coach! When are we actually gonna do something other than run laps 24/7?" Naruto complained from his spot on the ground where he was resting. Next to him lay Kiba who was breathing hard, even Lee and Neji were bent over from exhaustion.

"Oh suck it up you wussies, my nephew can run faster and longer than any of you and he's a freaking drama queen. Besides it's called conditioning for a reason." Jairyra wasn't lying really, Sasuke could run faster than most of his football players, now if only his little nephew would put it towards something athletic, like soccer, hell he had taught the kid years ago and he could wipe the field with any of the players here, with the exception of Neji and maybe Gaara. But alas, his dramatic pride and joy simply had no interests in competitive sports.

"But we're not a track team, and since when does personality have anything to do with how fast you are?" Shikamaru complained as he sat down on the bleachers next to their other coaches, Asuma and Gai.

All three broke out laughing.

"No Shikamaru, he meant that he is literally a drama queen, very into acting and art." Gai explained with that big blinding grin of his.

"OTOUTO!!!!"

All heads on the field turned towards the parking lot, where a tall silver haired man was running towards the field and to Jairyra.

They gave each other a hug and laughed.

"Kakashi! It's been way too long!" Gai exclaimed as they too hugged.

"What brings your old ass all the way over here in Konoha?" Asuma joked as they clasped hands and hugged.

"Hey! I resent that Asuma, you're a year older than I am you know." Kakashi smiled.

Jairyra laughed and then his face cleared as if he just thought of something, "Nii-san! Where is my dear nephew?! Don't tell me you left him in New York!"

"Of course I -" Kakashi started but was interrupted.

"OH NO KAKASHI! PLEASE SAY YOU DID NOT LEAVE MY DEAR LITTLE GODSON IN THAT AWFUL DANGEROUS CITY ALL BY HIMSELF! WHAT IF SOMEONE TRIES TO STEAL HIS BEAUTIFUL YOUTH AND INNOCENCE AND THERE IS NO ONE TO PROTECT HIM?!" Gai screamed, a heartbroken expression on his face.

"Gai I don't think Kakashi is that stupid." Asuma comforted, although he was a little unsure himself. You could never tell with Kakashi.

"Oh yes he is! Kakashi if I find out that you left my little nephew alone all by himself I will murder you." Jairyra threatened, his eyes narrowed into slits and an expression that promised pain.

"Uncle Jairyra!"

The football team could only blink as a black blur attached itself to their head coach.

"Sasuke?! What in the world is going on! Let me have a look at you! Gai, Asuma look how much he's changed!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the childish gloating his uncle was putting him through; really he hadn't changed at all since the last time he had seen them, except for the bangs, they were new... He smiled and hugged the before mentioned two.

"Wait a minute, you're telling me that that's a boy!"

Jairyra winced; leave it to Naruto to make enemies with his nephew already.

Sasuke sent a deadly glare towards the boy who had just questioned his gender and smirked in satisfaction as said boy winced and the others backed up. 'Really is it that hard to tell that I'm a boy, you think that the lack of any sort of chest would maybe give a hint but NOOOOO, they still mistake my gender!'

"Sasuke, don't be mean, really you should be used to it by now." Asuma said shaking his head.

Sasuke looked up as his internal rant was interrupted to give a disapproving look at Asuma and sighed.

"And you two, what's with the talking about me like I'm five fucking years old, I can take care of myself just fine." Sasuke pouted.

"Wow Kakashi, you must have made Sasuke his favorite breakfast this morning, he's in great mood." Jairyra noted as he mused Sasuke's hair.

"This is him in a good mood? I'd hate to see him in a bad mood."

"I heard that dobe." Sasuke replied icily and the blond teenager sitting on the ground.

The blonde stood up, "Oh and just what are you gonna do about it teme?" he said looking down because he was taller by about three inches.

"Naruto, chill out." a stern, deep voice cut in.

Sasuke looked up and met milky white eyes with his own dark ebony ones. For the first time in his life, a warm feeling, kind of like butterfly wings, spread through his stomach and made his breath catch in his throat.

"Ah, Kakashi, Sasuke, this is Neji Hyuuga. Star quarterback and captain of the varsity soccer team. Also top student in senior class. And this," Jairyra motioned to the 30 some guys on the field, "is the Konoha football team, my pride and joy, next to you of course Sasuke. Team, this is my older brother Kakashi Hatake, and my lovely nephew Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke would not have minded the introduction, really he wouldn't have, if not for the fact the both his father and his uncle had decided to push him towards the guys like he was a piece of steak for dinner. 'Well, Sasuke thought, 'actually it would be breakfast considering the time but that's just a technicality'. And contrary to popular belief, he was shy, very shy.

So naturally all the blood in his body decided that his face was the best place to be at the moment. Some called it blushing; Sasuke called it a way to make an embarrassing moment even more embarrassing.

At the purely human (and admittedly adorable) reaction, Naruto gained a bit of courage and held out his hand, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, I'm a junior."

Sasuke looked down at the hand, then at his father who gave him a stern smile that seemed to say 'shake his hand and be nice or you will not be sleeping peacefully for a very long time', and sadly Sasuke valued his sleep above all else. He sighed, somewhat defeated but he took the hand and shook it politely. "I'm a junior too."

"Really? No offense but you look pretty young to be a junior. I'm Kiba by the way, I'm a junior too." He was tall, had semi long messy brown hair, and two red stripes that Sasuke figured were tattoos on his defined cheeks.

"I skipped a grade back in elementary school." Sasuke explained in a small voice while looking down, not used talking to strangers and not liking it in the least, but as mentioned, when his sleep was threatened Sasuke had no choice but to cave.

"Sasuke-kun! It's been such a long time since I've seen you! I guess I just didn't really think about it until now but how have you been my wonderful, beautiful friend?!" Lee exclaimed as he threw his arms around the Uchiha and lifted him off his feet in a hug.

"L-lee I … can't bre-breath." Sasuke managed to gasp out. Alternatively glaring and gasping for breath, not fighting because he remembered that Lee was slightly… eccentric.

"Lee I don't think he can breath." Neji said giving a small smile at his friend's antics, but there was still a question on his mind, well after Lee's exclamation, two questions on his mind, the most recent being-

"Lee, how do you know Sasuke-chan?" Naruto asked confused, gaining a glare as Naruto once again referred to him as a girl.

"Sasuke-kun and I met a long time ago when I went with Gai-sensei to see that martial arts tournament in America." Lee explained with a smile.

"Lee saved little Sasuke from a couple of bullies that were teasing him about his hair." Gai continued with a smile.

"I suppose you don't have any trouble with that anymore," Sasuke looked up and met pale mint eyes, "bullies, I mean. Gaara Sabaku." The boy held out his hand, he had short red hair that could only be described as natural bead head. He had black rings around his eyes and the kanji for love on his forehead. But what startled him the most was the look in the red heads eyes, they were knowing eyes, eyes that reflected Sasuke's own pain and grief that he had long since pushed to the back of his own mind.

Sasuke shook his hand and replied to the previous statement, "No I don't, why do you say that though, I wonder." Sasuke's eyes narrowed a bit, whether from suspicion or apprehension he wasn't sure, but something told him that Gaara knew a lot more about him than what first time acquaintances should know.

Gaara smirked slightly, "I know these things. I'll be seeing you around, Sasuke Uchiha." And with that, Gaara walked back to the locker room to change.

Lee blinked slowly, "Did Gaara just speak to a complete stranger without a glare or a death threat?"

The others nodded slightly, being in varying degrees of shock.

However, Lee was Lee, so he pulled out of his shock relatively fast and grasped Sasuke's wrist and started pulling him towards the school, "Come on, I'll show you around Sasuke and then we can go get your schedule and we'll cat-" and Lee kept on and on and on.

"Lee…Lee…Lee…LEE!" Sasuke screeched.

Aforementioned boy looked up bewildered.

"Yes Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke sighed, "First of all you're still in your P.E. clothes, second of all, wouldn't it make more sense to get my first and then let you show me around the school?"

Lee thought about this for a few seconds and then, "YOSH! You are right Sasuke-kun! I shall change, then we shall get your schedule, then I'll show you around, then we can begin to catch up, and then-"

Sasuke looked up to the sky and mouthed a silent 'Why me?'

And that was chapter 1! Lee amuses me, teehee! So this is the part where i'm supposed to be all mysterious and say things like "Does Gaara know Sasuke?" and "How will Sasuke first day at school go?",... "Tune in next week, or... um... next chapter to fnd out!" but that seem horribly cliched doesn't it?

So how hott was Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean 3! I just saw it yesterday and hott damn! No guy should be that friggin pretty!!!

Anyways i gotta go, I'm watching Nightmare Before Christmas (totally one of the best movies on earth! i love tim burton!)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, oh and if you didnt notice, the story title and the chapter titles are songs. Never Too Late is by Three Days Grace and is my all time favorite song, Snow White Queen is by Evanescence and The Pros and Cons of Breathing is by Fall Out Boy!

Please Review and have a nice day!!!


	3. Chapter 3

Alrighty then, it's one in the morning, but i just had to get this up for you guys, cuz it's been awhile since my last update and i told you i wouldn't make you wait long..

i feel so bad for making you wait so long, so I'll just give you the warnings for this chapter and let you get on with it.

Warnings: once again, not too much at all in this chapter, some hints at shonen-ai ,because of Neji's denial :( and some language.

Disclaimer: Me no own, sadly...

Now, here you go!

Chapter 3 Dream To Make Believe

It's funny how

Things work out

The one's we need

Don't know we're there

If I were sand

And you were oceans,

The moon would be

Why you're pulled to me.

I wake up and think dreams are real

I sleep so I don't have to feel

The truth that you can't ever be

The one person that won't ever forget me

When Sasuke was seven, he began to see the world in a different light. Well maybe light wasn't quite the word, because the dark shroud that now constantly covered his life was anything but light. This darkness that surrounded him was in no way synonymous to light.

No, light meant lies, lies that people surrounded themselves with in New York, and even with the sea of gray that was the pollution producing metropolis, the light from the lies and ignorance seemed to radiate from the people. This is what caused him to keep his distance in relation to people back in that city.

It was the same story in every corner of the globe, and Konoha was no exception. No, in this city, this extremely strange city, where people look at him in curiosity, and certain people disregards his personal space and **hug **him, he people here seemed to beam light 24/7, yet it was different somehow. Everywhere else Sasuke had been (and he had been to plenty of places, due in part to his inheritance and Kakashi's persistence) the light was blinding, intense, disregarding the burning that he felt when anywhere near it. Here it was dimmer, there but understanding and in no way intense. That didn't however stop it from being light, which in turn meant lies.

When Sasuke was seven his lies, the ones that surrounded him in an ignorant blanket of warmth and light, were taken away. Ripped from his flesh as if they had been buried within him. Without those lies the world was no longer bright. It was neither wonderful nor poetic. The poets of the past were oblivious, Sasuke once thought when he turned nine and was celebrating by taking meds and staring at plain white walls.

At times Sasuke didn't know whether the change in perspective was appreciated or not. As a child locked up it was obvious that he didn't welcome the darkened tint to his once shining world. But once _out_ there, once actually _being _a part of the way the world turns once again, he began teetering on that once oh so resolute ingratitude. And that thought terrified him more than anything in his life had. He could see what others chose not to see. The darker world, that only those with sadness in their hearts and chaos in their minds would acknowledge, became his life.

Those first few years were hell, for both himself and Kakashi. Kakashi blamed himself, he knew. The insecurity Kakashi felt over being a father never really left him, and Sasuke feels guilty at thinking that he, and those first few years were to blame.

The world changes people. Things happen, people become what they weren't destined to become, and others around them get hurt. Whether by accident or on purpose varies, and Sasuke has been on both the giving and receiving end.

Sasuke had a list of things he hated in the world, and it was a very long list mind you, but what Sasuke hated above all else was memory. In Sasuke's mind it was like cancer, you could suppress it but that only meant that when it came back it was going to come back with a vengeance, stronger and even more scarring than before. One would begin to wonder if those moments of suppression were in any way worth it.

* * *

It had taken Lee a whole two minutes and twelve seconds to change and run back outside to find that Sasuke was no where to be seen… for three second before Kakashi was seen in front of the rest of the football team, walking towards him while pushing Sasuke forward. The latter mentioned was pouting while still remaining to seem like he was going to kill someone, and that has to take some sort of skill. 

Lee frowned before a huge smile once again took over his face. "Where in the world did you go Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to reply, however Kakashi slapped his hand over his mouth, knowing that he was about to say something very rude, "'Suke just left his iPod in the car and was going to go get, but I said to just go with you and I would get it for him."

Sasuke shook himself out of his fathers grasp and sent an icy glare that, to the amazement of all those assembled, Kakashi simply shrugged off and smiled at. Sasuke just continued to sulk at his failed attempt to escape.

"OH OK, well let's get going Sasuke-kun!" Lee exclaimed, grabbing a hold of Sasuke's clothe covered wrist and was about to pull him towards the entrance of the school when he was stopped.

"Wait a few minutes Lee, we'll go with you. After all, there's nothing better to do and we still have like an hour before school starts." Kiba stated while standing by the locker room door.

"Is that okay Sasuke-kun?" Lee asked the silent, stoic boy beside him.

Sasuke sighed, these people just wouldn't let up would they?

"It's fine Lee."

* * *

After about seven minutes of Lee chattering away about all the different things to do in Konoha, and how nice the weather was (which Sasuke silently disagreed upon, he preferred the rain to the sunshine.), and how have you been Sasuke-kun? and we should spar sometime Sasuke-kun… that last one caught his interest. 

"I don't think that's the best idea Lee." He said softly.

Lee stopped his rant and looked down at the shorter boy who was leaning against the side of the wall, "What's not the best idea Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke was quickly getting tired of the –kun and –chan being added to the end of his name, but as Kakashi said while he was teaching him Japanese, it was a custom, and it could be offensive if he told him to stop.

"Nothing Lee, don't worry about it." Sasuke closed his eyes as a breeze blew by and his hair went into total disarray.

The climate was nice here, Sasuke noted. At this time of year, New York would be freezing already, but Sasuke found himself liking the only slightly cold chill that was carried by the October wind.

The slight creaking of the locker door and the sound of footsteps in the crisp green grass distracted him from Lee's constant chattering. He opened his eyes and sighed (something he was doing very often lately, when did he become so resigned?) as a group of four boys walked up to them. Neji, Naruto, Kiba, and…

"I'm Shikamaru by the way, was gonna introduce myself earlier but whatever." The boy looked about 17, with brown eyes and spiky brown hair that was pulled into a ponytail on top of his head. He seemed tired, not by the way he stood, but by the lazy look in his eyes.

'Great, another person, yippee.' Sasuke thought while pushing himself off the wall with a roll of his body. (A.N. Sasuke-chan sounds so enthused, ne?)

"A pleasure, I'm sure." Sasuke said quietly while looking at the ground, trying not to just dash off and away from these people. 'But that would upset Lee,' Sasuke reminded himself, and Sasuke could technically refer to Lee as a friend, and he did have some respect for the always hyper and eccentric teen. Part of the explanation that Gai and Lee had told the team about how they had met was true, a couple of older guys, about 16 or so at the time when Sasuke was twelve, were teasing him about his hair and girly appearance, but what they didn't mention was how they were about to force themselves on Sasuke, and Sasuke, being in shock, was frozen still. That's when Lee came and beat the two punks off. Sasuke was ashamed of himself for being so weak in that moment, for not being able to move, but most of all, he was angry that someone had to save him. He was so angry at Lee for thinking that he was helpless that he had attacked the boy and they had fought for a good ten minutes before Kakashi and Gai had finally found them and separated them. Lee had talked to him later about the incident and told him something that he would never forget. He said that it was okay to be scared sometimes, it only proved that you were human, and that if he ever needed help, all he had to was ask. After that Sasuke had respected Lee for his blind dedication to a boy he knew nothing about and had attacked him.

"So Sasuke, where did you come from?" Neji asked the petite brunette walking next to Lee.

Said petite brunette looked up, as if he wasn't expecting anyone else to talk to him besides Lee whose mindless ranting had stopped. Sasuke blew his bangs back to their previous position when they entered the hallway where there was no wind.

"I'm from New York." He said quietly, looking at the senior with a slight blush spread over his pale cheeks.

"What a coincidence, you know Gaara, the kid you met earlier; he's from New York too." Naruto said as he walked through the hall with his hands behind his head.

"Really?" Now that he thought about it, the red head did seem familiar, of course it could just be Sasuke's mind playing with him, after all New York is a big city. Sasuke was talking more so to himself than to Naruto, but Naruto answered anyways.

"Yeah, he came here about two years ago. At first he wouldn't talk to anyone, and was a real jerk, kind of scary too. Not that he's not still kind of a creep, but anyways, him and Lee got into a big argument and ended up fighting a couple months after he came here. Now they're friends though and Lee's the only one Gaara will talk to in more than one syllable."

Sasuke gave a small, barely there smile, "You make a lot of friends that way, don't you Lee?"

Lee smiled back and ruffled Sasuke's hair, "Naw, just the difficult one's."

The other four wore confused expressions on their faces but Kiba was the one to comment, "Uh, I think we missed something here."

"Oh that's right; you didn't hear the whole story of how I and Sasuke-kun met. You see, long story short, I was kind of giving the vibe that I thought Sasuke-kun couldn't defend himself, which made Sasuke-kun mad. We ended up fighting until eventually Gai-sensei and Kakashi-san separated us." Lee explained while they turned a corner, the main office now in view.

"Let me guess, Lee won, you gained respect for him, then you became friends." Neji stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

This was an educated guess, after all Lee was two years older than Sasuke. Lee had also always been one of the taller kids in the school yard and Sasuke was so petit that you could tell Lee must've towered over him, even then. Not to mention, where Lee had hard muscle, like all the other guys who played multiple sports, Sasuke was feminine, skinny. Neji can't imagine that the boy weighed any more 105 pounds.

Sasuke just gave a cocky smirk and entered the main office. Lee was about to go in too, but then he turned to Neji, "Nope, quit the opposite actually Neji-kun. Sasuke-kun kicked my ass." And with a bright smile, Lee walked into the office, leaving behind four very astounded faces.

* * *

The fact that Jairyra and the principle Tsunada were siblings was well known through out the school. Basically, Jairyra would do things to purposefully piss Tsunada off, and Tsunada would storm through the school until she found him, and then she would leave quite satisfied at having left her big brother with a black eye. 

So needless to say, seeing their overly violent and hard ass of a principle, coddle and fuss over Sasuke, was quite a shock.

"Sasuke look at you, you need to come over and let me cook for you, you're just way to skinny to be healthy. You have dark spots under your eyes, did you get enough sleep? Did that bonehead of a brother of mine wake you up to early? And what in the world is he feeding you, you're so damn skinny!" Tsunada was pulling at Sasuke's wrists, at his clothes, brushing his hair back out of his eyes, and just being the all around stereotypical mother-hen.

Sasuke just let out a quiet little laugh, still aware that there were people around. "You mean what do I cook for him? You know the only decent meal Kakashi can cook is French toast. And I can't help if I'm skinny, it's just my body type, and that won't change no matter how much food I put down my throat."

Neji looked at the smaller boy; that was the most the kid had said since they had met. He always talked in a very soft voice, as if he wasn't used to talking to people. 'Actually,' Neji thought, 'he probably didn't, if the cute blush Sasuke-chan gave while talking to them before was any thing to go by.' Neji's mind automatically did a rewind, 'WHOA! Wait a minute; did I just say a **HE** was cute?! That's just wrong! But then again, Sasuke-chan is very feminine, so it was probably just a slip up; after all just because you say a guy is hot, I mean that doesn't mean anything. Especially if said guy looks more like a girl.' (A.N. Yes Neji is that far in denial, looks like poor Sasuke has his work cut out for him, ne?)

"Anyways, I need my schedule, Auntie Tsu, Lee and the others have offered to show me around today." Sasuke looked at Tsunada, telling her not to comment with his eyes…that message, however, was lost on his dear Aunt.

"And you accepted?" Tsunada asked in disbelief.

Sasuke glared at her slightly but Tsunada kept on going, "I mean, it's not like you to be social at all, I can understand Lee but a whole group of people. Jeez what did Kakashi threaten you with this time? I bet it was sleep, no I know it was sleep. Well I guess having a group to show you around is better than just one person. Though this town is no where near as big as New York, and no where near as dangerous. I'm so glad you're here now 'Suke, now I don't have to worry about drugs or Orochim-"

"That's quite enough Tsunada." Sasuke said crossly, glaring at his Aunt. Tsunada seemed to realize what she was saying, and let a sheepish expression cover her face. She walked to her desk and grabbed a sheet of paper. As soon as she handed Sasuke the paper, she bent down and kissed his forehead.

"I'm sorry 'Suke, I need to learn to control my thoughts, ne? You'll be called down to the office every day at noon to take your medicine, kay?"

"Okay Auntie."

* * *

The school was big. But it was the typical high school, the same as any other high school anywhere else. The same slightly green lockers covering the walls, the same numbered hallways that made it extremely simple to figure out where you're going, the same tiled floors, and the same separated groups of students. There were the punks, the geeks, the nerds (totally different thing), the preps, and the jocks. The monotony of the structure of high school was comforting at times, like now when he was in a strange new town. Other times, it was boring. Being bored is what led Sasuke to trouble back in New York, well that and the traumatic events of his life, and the influence of all the wrong people. 

So really, it wasn't at all necessary for Lee, Neji, Naruto, Kiba, and Shikamaru to drag him through the whole school, ("Just in case," Naruto said.). Really all they did was walk around talking to each other, stopping every now and then to get his opinion or to ask him questions, which he would to reply to in as little words as possible.

Sasuke had always been very intelligent, so it wasn't a surprise that he had more than a few classes with Lee, Shikamaru, and Neji.

FLASHBACK

"So Sasuke-kun, what's your first class?" Kiba asked as they exited the main office.

"Yeah, maybe we have some together." Naruto said with a friendly smile.

"I have AP Calculus first." Sasuke replied, looking over his schedule with an expression akin to satisfaction.

"WHAT?!" Kiba and Naruto asked together.

Neji leaned over the boy's shoulder to look at his schedule, not catching the younger boy's face flaming with a blush. "Well, it looks like we have another Shikamaru on our hands; almost all of his classes are senior AP classes. It also looks like we have most of the same classes Sasuke-chan." This only made Sasuke blush harder, which Naruto noted.

"Hey! Why can Neji call you Sasuke-chan without a glare?!" Naruto questioned.

Sasuke blushed again but still answered with a steady voice, "Neji is my sempai, you are not." The rest of them just laughed.

FLASHBACK END

The first half of the day went by with Sasuke meeting more people he had ever known in his life and talking more than he had in nine years. And he did not like it. He didn't like talking to anyone besides his family and Lee (whom he considered family). However, there seemed to be exceptions. For example, he didn't mind talking to Naruto or Kiba (though he found that he could only be near them for limited amount of time before they drove him crazy with the need to rip their tongues, just to get a moment of silence. Shikamaru wasn't at all horrible to talk to either, he was the kind of person who you could come to for help; he didn't talk a lot, only replying now and then when he felt like it.

Neji was a different matter entirely. Sasuke found himself talking to him the most. He was in most of his classes, the only ones they didn't share were second and fifth block. Neji had weight lifting and soccer while Sasuke had creative writing and art. In every class Neji would sit by him and every time he sat, Sasuke would blush. That was a situation that, normally, Sasuke hated. He hated not being in control of his reactions, not being in control of his life. Yet it wasn't bad being around Neji, it was weird, yes, but no where near bad.

Currently Sasuke was sitting Indian style on top of Kakashi's desk eating the lunch he made for Kakashi and himself. Lee wanted Sasuke to eat lunch with them and meet the rest of their group (or so he was saying all morning) but Sasuke had had enough of meeting people for one day.

"So, how is your first day going 'Suke-chan?" Kakashi asked while eating his lunch.

"You know, I think I preferred it when you didn't work in the same place I went to school." Sasuke commented before talking a sip of his water.

"Hey, I know you don't mean that. After all I did save you from the dreaded student cafeteria, and god knows what horrors were waiting for you there. And also, would it kill you to actually sit in a seat." Kakashi said with a raised eyebrow and a wide grin.

Sasuke scoffed, "You mean like you and the rest of the world, how much fun would that be? Besides school chairs are so uncomfortable. Also, I think I've met enough people for today, and if I had gone with them to lunch, I would have had to sit and be in the same vicinity as those girls. Ino and Sakura, I think their names were."

"Ah, yes. I believe those two are in my third period Honors English 3 class. I take it you don't like them very much." Kakashi replied, taking a book out of the drawer of his desk and opening to the page he left off at.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the porno his guardian constantly reads, "Very much? They have to be the most annoying…things to ever grace this earth! I swear, one minute they were questioning my gender, the next they were throwing themselves at me, wanting me to be their boyfriend! There is no way in hell I was going anywhere near that table, especially considering that lunch is 45 minutes here."

Kakashi gave Sasuke a look out of the corner of his eye, "Oh come on, it couldn't have been that bad."

Sasuke gave him a deadpanned look, "I don't think I'm bi anymore."

Kakashi started laughing, "Well I heard you're getting along with some one."

Sasuke looked at Kakashi, who once again had that sly smile that said 'I know everything you're thinking' and 'I'm definitely up to something' at the same time. Sasuke did not like that smile. So he smartly decided to stay quiet, because if he said no, he'd be lying, and if he said yes, it would mean admitting defeat. It's a lose-lose situation, so Sasuke took the third road which was… do nothing and hope it goes away.

Not going to happen. "I heard from the other teachers that you're quite talkative when Neji's around. He is quite the catch 'Suke."

"He's straight dad." 'Damn! Wrong thing to say! Good going Sasuke!'

"Oh, so you are finally interested in someone?" Apparently this information was so good, Kakashi actually put his book down to fully look at Sasuke, who was blushing ten shades of red and looked as though all the words in the English language had escaped him. (A.N. they speak English when they talk alone together.)

Thankfully, someone out there was looking out for Sasuke, and the bell rung at that precise moment. (Funny how the world works huh?)

* * *

When Sasuke walked into fifth block, he thought that he wouldn't know anyone, so being that he was the first one there (considering he flew out of his father's room like a bat out of hell) he took a seat at the back of the room by the window. After a few minutes there was still no one he had met that day so Sasuke relaxed. 'Finally, just a nice relaxing class with no talking to noisy strangers, no getting hit on by annoying girls, just me and my writing.' 

However, it seems that luck would only strike once today for Sasuke. And who walks through the door about three seconds before the bell rings? Gaara Sabaku. Now don't misconstrue this sentence, because in fact, Gaara just happened to be in all of his classes, but Neji, occasionally Lee and Shikamaru, also shared those classes, so needless to say he was pretty distracted most of the time.

Gaara walked straight to the back of the room and grabbed the seat next to Sasuke.

"Told you I'd be seeing you again Uchiha." Gaara replied as he leaned back in his seat.

Sasuke looked at Gaara and smirked, "Well that's kind of a given, after all, my uncle is your football and soccer coach. It would have been pretty weird if I hadn't seen you again."

Gaara chuckled slightly, "Yeah, I suppose it would be. So what's the infamous Sasuke Uchiha doing in Konoha, Japan?"

Sasuke turned in his seat and looked at the red head long and hard, as if searching for something that he knew would be there. Finally he remembered where he knew the red head from. "I could ask the same of you Sabaku, last I heard of you, you beat some guy into the hospital. Yet here you are."

Gaara shrugged, "I wasn't as tied down to that life as you were. I didn't have to worry about anyone coming after me. Temari and Kankuro wanted to come back to our native country, and I didn't really care. You?"

Sasuke just sat back in seat while still managing to look as if he had perfect posture. "Got help when I turned fourteen, been clean since." Sasuke looked at Gaara with a wry smile, "Guess even screw ups get second chances huh?"

Gaara returned the look, "Yeah, I guess so."

* * *

The rest of the day flew by. In the rest of the classes, Neji once again sat by Sasuke, with Lee diagonally from him and in front of Neji, and Shikamaru behind him. Gaara went to retreat to the other corner, but Sasuke went over and drug him over to the seat in front of him, amazing the three already seated and Gaara himself. 

At the end of the day, Sasuke walked to his father's room, ready to go back to their house and start dinner. For the last two years Sasuke had began to get used to the routine that he had fallen into. He would go home after school, cook dinner, do homework, clean, take a shower, sit down and draw or write, whichever he felt like, and then he would go to bed. Yes, Sasuke liked to keep himself busy. And Kakashi definitely wasn't going to complain. It was kind of like having a house wife, a glaring, moody, emotional, childish house wife.

So when Lee and the others asked if he wanted to stay for practice and then get something to eat afterwards, he readily declined, and before Lee could insist, he promised to go with them on Friday, when they didn't have practice.

Sasuke got home, went through his regular routine, and strangely, slept soundly for the first time in years.

EWWWWW!!!! That ending sucked. but like i said, it's one in the morning and i'm exhausted! So next chapter will explain how Gaara and Sasuke know each other and friday night out with the gang is going to be fun...

Thank you guys so much for the reviews, If you would spread the word, i would really like to see more NejiSasu... this pairing just doen't get enough love!!!! and what's with nobody updating any of the NejiSasu stories? i just don't get it!!!

keep reviewing and have a nice day and/or night!!! I'm goin to bed...


	4. Chapter 4

YES!!! Finally, I'm so sorry I made you all wait, but a very good friend of the family died from ovarian cancer just last week and we've been taking care of her kids while her husband took care of the funeral arrangments, it was a very nice service. It wasn't too flashy or fancy, which is just the way she would have wanted.

On a lighter note, my mother is almost fully recovered so updates should come much quicker than they have!

Warnings for this chapter: Once again, not much sadly... i keep on having to reign in my want to add more than the appropriate amount of NejiSasu because he did just come to this town, and if you remember Neji is straight(ish), don't worry though! This will change soon, so there will be much more lovin' in upcoming chapters!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... sadly, if I did... well you don't even want to know! I also don't own Dead Silence or Fall Out Boy's song, My Heart is the Worst Kind of Weapon...

NejiSasu owns!!! Please spread the love!!!!!!!!!!! Now onto the show...

Chapter 4 My Heart Is the Worst Kind of Weapon

* * *

I spent most of last night dragging this lake

for the corpses of all my past mistakes

sell me out - the joke's on you

we are salt - you are the wound

empty another bottle and let me tear you to pieces

this is me wishing youinto the worst situations

I'm the kind of kid that can't let anything go

but you wouldn't know a good thing if it came up and slit your throat

Your remorse hasn't fallen on deaf ears

rather ones that just don't care

cause I knowthat you're in between arms somewhere next to heart beats

where you shouldn't dare sleep

Now I'll teach you a lesson for keeping secrets from me

Sasuke could count on the fingers of one hand the amount of times he had talked to Gaara Sabaku, but he had seen and been around him quite a lot as a child. The first time had been when he was eight and had been forced to go to a group therapy exercise that his psychiatrist thought would help with his lack of social skills. Yeah, right. He went, regardless of his skepticism (like he had much of a choice), and the first person he saw was a kid, about an inch taller than him, with messy crimson hair and pale mint eyes, even then at nine, the youngest Sabaku had his tattoo for love and the heavy bags under his eyes (Sasuke had thought, at one of their meetings, that it was from insomnia, but he never asked Gaara to confirm his theory.).

Never the less, Gaara was the kid he sat with from then on. Every Friday, he would be escorted through the plain white building (many times Sasuke would wonder why they decided to make the building one solid color, the monotony of it probably only worsened the condition of the patients. At least it was enough to annoy Sasuke into near insanity.) and to the room that held group therapy. He would automatically walk straight to the seat beside the red-head, which would be the same seat every day. It was the seat right by the window, thank goodness (Sasuke doesn't know what he would have done if he had to stare blankly at the stupid plain white walls). They never talked to anyone, each other included. Gaara would sit with his legs in front of him, ankles and arms crossed, his eyes closed. Sasuke would be sitting Indian style and look out the window at the trees and sky, committing it to memory so he could draw it later, until the hour was over and he could go back to his room. Gaara never complained about his presence, actually, if anyone was going to take his seat when Sasuke was a little late, he would open his eyes and glare at the person until they eventually gave up and sat somewhere else.

They didn't know why they sat by each other. They didn't know one another, Gaara wasn't a patient at the hospital (his psychologist had merely suggested that this might be good for the youngest Sabaku, so there he was), and they didn't know each others story, why the other was there. They didn't even know each others names. Yet there they sat, every Friday, for over three months, until Sasuke stopped coming to the sessions, due to unknown circumstances. Gaara only continued to go for about two day before he told the doctor, death glare included, that he refused to continue going. Needless to say, Gaara didn't attend any more group therapy meetings.

The few other times Sasuke saw Gaara were on the streets, in dark alleyways. Apparently, like Sasuke, the red-head had gotten involved with some pretty shady characters. In those few times, they would stop and exchange a few words, but not much. Before the first such encounter, they had learned the others name and their story. There was this mutual respect and understanding between them and even though they didn't see or talk to each other often, they always listened out for any information on the other.

It wasn't a surprise that Sasuke had forgotten all about their past history. The new medication his doctors put him on after coming out of rehab caused a slight case of amnesia. Nothing too much, and he always remembered what he had forgotten eventually. They were very similar, he and Gaara, maybe that's why Sasuke had chosen to sit by him that first day of therapy, maybe that's why they wouldn't sit by anyone else, maybe that's why they felt that could act like themselves when it was just the two of them. Because they understood that the world wasn't perfect, that it wasn't in the slightest way fair, they felt a little more comfortable around each other.

Because the best way to re-enter society was to begin to feel more comfortable around people, one by one, especially people who were like yourself. At least, that's what the psychiatrists had said when they made him go to that first meeting. But there really isn't anyone like you when you are thrust into that type of situation. Before he met Gaara, he had known what it was to truly be alone. To feel that there was nothing and no one to share your pain with. He and Gaara had shared their pain with each other, not verbally, but by being there week after week. It was a silent message, fragile, and very hesitant. But it was reassurance, and Sasuke found himself wondering if he had ever thanked the red-head for giving him something so important. Then he wondered if he had to.

* * *

School was school for Sasuke. At least that's the answer Kakashi got every time he asked Sasuke how his day went. The week flew by, and Sasuke found himself cursing the promise he made to Lee about going out with them on Friday. Which just so happened to be today. Sasuke would never admit it, but he had never gone out with **friends** before and he was kind of nervous. Hell, he had never really HAD a friend before. Sure in New York he would go out, but usually by himself. Very rarely had he been accompanied, but if he was it was usually by Suigetsu, or Kimimaro, or Juugo and they were ne where near "friends". So he had no idea what he was supposed to wear, or do, or how he was supposed to act. 

That day in seventh block, Lee had told him that they were going out to dinner, then to a movie, and then the boys would probably spend the night at Naruto's apartment. That last one had been iffy for Sasuke, but Kakashi had practically pushed him into going, saying that if he ever wanted to be a _normal_ teenager, then he would have to do the _normal _things that _normal_ teenagers do. He had stressed the normal when saying this, so Sasuke retorted with, maybe he would be a_ normal_ teenager if he had a _normal_ guardian, who read _normal _books instead of porn. Kakashi had just laughed and said that he would be fine and if he really didn't want to stay then all he had to do was call. This implied that Sasuke was scared, and he could just not have that, so he had told Kakashi that it wouldn't be necessary and that he would be perfectly fine. In the house of stranger. In the house of a stranger that he had known for only a week. In the house of a stranger that he had known for only a week, in which he had no clue where said house was located. No, Sasuke was not freaking out at all. He pacified himself by saying over and over that Lee and Gaara would both be there.

That kind of helped.

So here he was, searching for something to wear in his disaster of a closet (he was still unpacking after all) blasting music from his iPod, humming to the chorus of one of his favorite songs to calm him down. It was about four o'clock, so Sasuke had about an hour before Lee and the others came to pick him up. Thankfully, he had already had a shower and made dinner for Kakashi (who was going to protest before Sasuke gave him a look that said 'shut up or I'm never going to cook again'), which was now in the oven.

Sasuke sighed slightly before finally deciding that he was being ridiculous. Therefore he grabbed the nearest pair of skinny jeans that happened to be a dark blue with rips at the knees and one on the upper thigh. He yanked those on and looked around his closet for the thousandth time in the last twenty minutes. He grabbed a small sleeveless black shirt that had a hoodie attached and had MCR splattered on the front in red. He threw on his black spiked belt and slipped on his black and red converse. He looked around for a moment, thumb under his chin, index finger tapping against his lips as he thought. The proverbial light bulb flashed on and he dug through one of his drawers before finding two black fingerless gloves, one that went up to his elbow and the other stopping at his wrist.

Satisfied with his outfit, Sasuke walked into the bathroom that was attached to his room. He looked at himself in the mirror for a little before deciding that a bit of light red shadow and eyeliner would complete the total emo/punk look he was going for. He was going out with a bunch of preps; hopefully his outfit would discourage those… things that were apparently called girls, from hanging off of him all night.

Sasuke brushed through his hair one more time, throwing it up in a high ponytail that left his bang hanging free, and grabbed his iPod and the player. He walked downstairs and set it up in the kitchen so he could finish Kakashi's dinner. He looked at the clock and noted that he had thirty minutes to go through and clean while finishing dinner.

Sasuke didn't even look up as the doorbell rang thirty-six minutes later, "Dad! Go get the door please!"

Kakashi looked up and sighed, marking his book by folding the corner of the page; he practically had to drag himself out of his comfy chair and to the front door. He looked through the glass at the side of the door and saw four teenage boys, waiting patiently.

"Kakashi! Opening a door is not brain surgery, any minute now!" The scream came from the kitchen and Kakashi chuckled as he opened the door.

"Hello Lee-kun, Neji-kun, Naruto-kun, Gaara-kun. Please come into our wonderful abode!" Kakashi said dramatically as the boys filed in.

"Hello Kakashi-san! You have a very beautiful house! Where is Sasuke-kun?" Lee asked as he looked around enthusiastically, listening to the music that was playing.

Kakashi grinned, "Thank you Lee-kun, but you really should tell that to 'Suke, he did all the decorating, I just did the manual labor. He's in the kitchen though; he's graciously making my dinner for me, even though he's not going to be here. He loves me so very much!" Kakashi explained as they walked through the living room to the kitchen, where Sasuke was checking to see if the lasagna that he was making was done or not.

"Sasuke-kun! I have told Kakashi-san already, but your house is magnificent! Do you need any help?" Lee asked as Sasuke confirmed that the lasagna was indeed done.

"Thank you Lee, but I've got it for now. Hello Neji, Gaara, Naruto." Sasuke greeted the group of boys as he lifted the oven door slightly and hit it with his hip to close it before setting the lasagna down on the stovetop.

Sasuke looked over at Kakashi, who was leaning on the counter nearest him, "And you, the only reason I cook at all is because if I don't then I would die of starvation, and the only reason I'm cooking now, is because if you did it, I'd come home tomorrow and the house would be burned to the ground. Also, let that cool for a few minutes or you're going to burn yourself, there's water and I made some tea yesterday, it's in the fridge. Don't make a mess or you're cleaning it up, oh and don't forget to lock the door and set the alarm before you go to bed. Okay?"

Kakashi sighed and looked at the boys who were looking at Sasuke as if he had grown a second head, "Sometimes I don't know who's taking care of whom here. Everything will be fine Sasuke, now go, skip and sing and be merry, and all that jazz."

Sasuke looked at Kakashi suspiciously as he was putting his iPod into his pocket and the player into his small duffel bag, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to get rid of me, anything you want to tell me dad?"

"That, 'Suke dear, is called paranoia. After all, how could I ever want to get rid of you? I would most certainly die." Kakashi said while nodding, as if agreeing to his own statement.

"Yeah, come on Sasuke-chan! Let's leave the old man alone and go have fun!" Naruto said, putting an arm around Sasuke's shoulders, receiving a glare for his words and actions.

"Get off me, dobe." Sasuke said as he slipped out of Naruto's grasp and made his way to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow otou-san." Sasuke called as Lee and Naruto pushed him out of the door while Neji and Gaara followed.

Kakashi smiled, "Love you 'Suke, have fun."

* * *

Naruto's car was nice. Not nice as in sporty and expensive nice, but nice as in comfortable and able to fit five people rather nicely nice. Naruto and Lee sat in the front, which left Sasuke in the back between Gaara and Neji. Yes, cue blush, now. 

Gaara had decided to make himself busy by looking through Sasuke's iPod, one of the earpieces in his right ear, the other in Sasuke's left ear, while Neji, Lee, and Naruto were discussing the upcoming football season. Gaara clicked on 'Teenagers' by My Chemical Romance and Sasuke began to tap his fingers to the familiar beat. Then a question formed in Sasuke's mind.

"Where are we eating?" He asked, fingers still tapping to the music.

"Oh! Did I forget to tell you Sasuke-kun? We're going to a little diner right by the movie theatre; Chouji's parents own it and they have the best food out of any restaurant in the city. I'm so sorry! I should have told you so that you knew and had a say in what we do! I'm so sorry!" Lee said as he turned around in his seat so fast that Sasuke thought he was experiencing whiplash.

"Oh, that's okay Lee, I was just curious, it's not that important." Sasuke said slowly, not really knowing what to say.

Lee then smiled and turned back around his seat just as quickly as the last time. Sasuke could swear that he was getting dizzy by Lee's movements, and he thought that the other boy had to at least a little bit dizzy.

Neji smiled slightly and turned to Sasuke, "He's always doing that, it's okay, it's normal."

Sasuke blinked and cocked his head to the side, "Doesn't he ever get dizzy? I wasn't even moving and I got dizzy."

Neji laughed, "I guess not, and if he does, no one can tell."

* * *

About a ten minute car drive landed Sasuke in a modest little diner with about seven people, these people included: Naruto, Lee, Gaara, Neji, Ten-Ten, Sakura, and Ino. Now, Sasuke was not sexist, not in the least. However, Sasuke has come to the conclusion that these very nice guys, who Sasuke surprisingly got along with very well, made really bad choices when it came to female friends. The only girls that Sasuke had met and liked was Gaara's sister, Temari, and Neji's cousin, Hinata. 

Ten-Ten, Sakura, and Ino were what Sasuke referred to as the 'things.' They were the stereotypical prep girls, snobby, rude, pig-headed, and impossible to divert. As soon as the guys entered Ten-Ten practically attached herself to Neji (which made Sasuke narrow his eyes in a glare), and Sakura and Ino almost tackled Sasuke, had he not side stepped out of dangerous, he would have been directly in their line of fire. So Sasuke pretty much stayed at Gaara's side, as his glare of doom seemed to keep them away.

Unlike Sakura and Ino, who were practically obsessed with him, Ten-Ten did not like Sasuke. In fact, she probably hated him as much as he hated her. So it wasn't until they were half way through their meal when she finally turned her attention to him.

"So, Sasuke-kun, where did you move here from?" She asked in that completely fake, overly sweet voice that almost made Sasuke wince as his ears were assaulted by the sound.

"New York." He said simply, turning back to Gaara and going to eat his chicken tenders. (Yes Sasuke preferred getting chicken tenders everywhere he went, so what?)

Apparently, that wasn't all Ten-Ten had to say, "Really? I used to live in New Jersey, but I had a cousin who lived in New York. What's your whole name, maybe I've heard of you."

"Uchiha Sasuke." He said, still turned towards Gaara.

Ten-Ten's eyes went wide and she gasped and pointed at him, "Oh my god! You're an Uchiha, I heard about you! You're the one whose broth-"

Sasuke turned back to her with a cold glare, "Shut up. Now."

Sasuke returned to his food silently, his head bowed low so his bangs covered his eyes. Gaara shot her a murderous glare that sent Ten-Ten jumping to Neji, who in turn gave her a disapproving look and tried, in vain, to shake her off his slowly dying arm.

* * *

Apparently Sasuke's luck was steadily increasing, as the 'things' couldn't stay to go to the movies, opting instead to go to the mall, something about having nail appointments. Whatever, as long as the dubbed 'bitch from the fiery chasm known as hell,' a.k.a Ten-Ten went with them he couldn't care less. He briefly wondered if Neji's arm was in such a state that it would need to be amputated from the grip she had on him, but he ignored said thoughts in favor of listening to Lee talking about what they should see. 

"What kinds of movies do you like Sasuke-chan?" Neji asked as they walked the few blocks to the movie theatres.

Sasuke shrugged, "I don't really know, I've never really watched T.V or gone to the movies. Whatever you guys like is fine."

Neji looked over at him, surprised, as they walked up to the line, "You've never been to the movies? What did you do for fun back in New York?"

Sasuke handed his money over to Gaara, since he had offered to get their tickets so they wouldn't all have to stand in line, "I'm more of a stay inside, draw and write, sort of person, now." Sasuke explained that quiet voice of his.

Neji was going to comment on the 'now' part of the statement, but chose not to pry, "That's cool, what do you like to draw and write?"

The group walked inside and made their way to the concession stand, Naruto and Lee talking about the horror they were going to go see, Gaara walking in his spot by Sasuke silently listening to Neji and Sasuke's conversation, silently a part of the conversation.

"I draw anything really, whatever I feel like. I write music and I love to sing." Sasuke said as he looked at the big menu on the wall behind the counter.

Neji looked over at him, "Do you want anything Sasuke-chan?"

Sasuke looked up and blushed slightly, "I was just going to get an Icee."

Neji smiled, "I'll get it, I was gonna get one too."

This caused Sasuke to blush even more as he went to give Neji the money. Neji rolled his eyes, "Sasuke, its 2.49, don't worry about it, okay."

Gaara looked at Sasuke and saw, if it was possible, his blush get even darker. The red head smiled a small smile, "Me and Sasuke will go get seats while you guys get the food."

Sasuke looked over at Gaara and blinked, "Huh?"

Naruto just smiled, "Okay! See you inside!"

Gaara grabbed Sasuke's hand and drug him off in their theatre's direction. Once there Gaara drug Sasuke to the very top, which was where the gang sat every time they came to see a movie. They sat in the center, Gaara sitting to Sasuke's right. The red-head looked over at the raven and smirked. That smirk could mean many things, it could mean 'I know what you're hiding', or 'I can't believe you just let me drag you all the way here without even a glare', though it was probably the former, since Sasuke hasn't ever glared at Gaara before.

"What?!" Sasuke asked the very smug looking Sabaku.

"You like Neji." This was not a question, no, it was a statement. A very sure statement, it was clear that Sasuke wouldn't be able to convince Gaara otherwise, and he briefly pondered how the Sabaku got to know him so well.

"You're not very inconspicuous about it. You blush practically every time he talks to you." Gaara smiled slightly as Sasuke pouted, clearly not liking this situation at all.

Then Sasuke turned around fully in his chair to face his red headed friend, "What should I do Gaara? I've never had a… a…"

"A crush." Gaara supplied.

Sasuke nodded his head, "Right. I've never had a crush before, and the guy seems straight, so tell me what I should do."

"Hell if I know." Gaara said, resting his feet on the seat in front of him, his arms crossed behind his head. But as he looked over at the raven, the pout on his face, and his eyes pleading and needing help, he mentally cursed Sasuke and his evil pout that was slowly smothering his will. Gaara could hear Sasuke's mental maniacal laughter of triumph as he sighed.

"Naruto would be better at this kind of stuff, but I guess I can help you out." Gaara said rolling his eyes as Sasuke beamed at him.

"Thank you Gaara, have I ever told that you're my best friend?"

Gaara looked over at what he could, reluctantly, call his most precious person. Sasuke had been there for him, all those years ago, during some of the hardest times of his life. It didn't matter that they barely ever spoke, the connection that they had, and still have, was what Gaara had needed. He realized at that moment, sitting in the movie theatre, waiting for the two idiots and Neji with the raven, that the other boy was something indeed very important to him. He would do anything for Sasuke; all the other boy had to do was ask. (1)

Gaara ruffled the younger boy's hair, still in a ponytail, and laughed when Sasuke scowled at him for messing his hair up. Sasuke pulled his hair down and put it back up as the other boys made their way up to where he and Gaara were seated. Sasuke could only blink as Naruto and Lee's walked up the stairs slowly, arms were filled with food, Neji only carrying two large cups, stood behind them, tapping his foot impatiently.

They finally made it to the top, though Neji bypassed them on the stairs, muttering about 'idiots with endless pits for stomachs'. Neji sat in the seat to the left of Sasuke and handed him his Icee, "Sorry it took so long Sasuke-chan, we would have been here sooner, but Lee and Naruto decided that they were going to stuff their faces during the movie."

Gaara snorted, "Probably so they don't have to focus on the screen but on their food instead, pansies."

"Hey! We heard that Gaara! I'll have you know that I'm just very hungry right now!"Naruto cried indignantly.

Sasuke looked over to where Naruto and Lee were sitting, "That is a lot of food Lee; didn't you eat enough at dinner?"

Lee smiled, "Nope, I have to eat a lot to keep up with my work-outs, so I eat about four or five times a day."

"But Lee, the food here really isn't healthy, if you have to eat that much you should at least be sure that you follow a healthy diet." Sasuke said, letting some of his mother-hen qualities show through.

"Its okay, Sasuke-kun, I usually eat healthier, but just for today, I thought I'd splurge some."

"The bad thing about it is that they'll eat even more when we get to Naruto's apartment." Neji rolled his eyes and chuckled as Sasuke made a disgusted face. Suddenly, the lights dimmed until they were completely out and the credits started.

* * *

Twenty minutes into the movie and Sasuke was holding onto both Gaara and Neji for dear life. When they said that they were going to be seeing Dead Silence (2), Sasuke didn't really care. Of course he didn't care because he didn't know what the movie was about. So, in turn, he didn't know that it would have that seriously creepy little doll in it. Sasuke hated many things, this was true, but there were only a few things that he feared, and those few things just happened to include dolls. 

So he wasn't ashamed at all that he was gripping Neji and Gaara's hands so tight that they might fall off later. And he was too afraid to even comprehend that he was holding his crushes hand. All he could focus on was that damned creepy doll on the screen. Tonight was not going to be fun.

* * *

"Man, that was awesome! I wonder if that legend is true, like it really exists. That would be so cool to be a part of a ghost story like that! Don't you think Sasuke-chan?" Naruto asked, looking over at the paler than normal boy who was still clinging to Neji and Gaara just as hard as they had in the movie theatre. 

The shaking boy shook his head in the negative sign slowly, "I hate dolls. I hate clowns and I hate dolls. And that blasphemous thing you call a film put both of them together… that was horrible."

Gaara brushed his bangs back soothingly, "It's okay, 'Suke, it was just a movie. It wasn't real; nothing is going to come after you."

Neji looked over at the distraught Sasuke, and then at the hand that holding his in an iron vice, for some reason, it didn't bother him. Besides, the boy was shaken up pretty badly; Neji wouldn't have had the heart to try to pry him off anyways.

They got into the car, where Sasuke finally loosened his grip on the two boys, and started to calm down. It was relatively quiet during the drive, Naruto and Neji talked some, and Lee was Lee, but a bit more tamed than usual.

They finally parked in a nice sized apartment complex, the building was a warm brick color, Sasuke could see that from the light of the streetlamps. It was a very pleasant looking place, actually, and Sasuke thought that it might be more comfortable than his and Kakashi's oversized house. The boys grabbed their bags out of the car and made their way up to Naruto's floor, which happened to be the top. Once there, Naruto took out his key and sighed, "Home, sweet home."

Sasuke immediately took a liking to the cozy apartment, it wasn't too little and it wasn't too big. It was the seemingly the perfect size, and it had a very homey feel to it.

"You have a very nice home, Naruto." Sasuke complimented quietly. Smiling slightly when Naruto beamed back at him, Sasuke sat his stuff by Gaara's and retrieved his pajamas, a pair of boxers and a blue ribbed tank top.

"Where is the bathroom, Naruto?" Sasuke asked as the others flopped onto the couch, well Lee and Naruto sprawled out onto the couch as Neji sat on the loveseat, Gaara just sat in comfortable looking recliner by the loveseat.

"Huh? Oh, right down the hall to the right Sasuke-chan." Sasuke nodded and went off to change.

I decided to end it there, the rest of the night will be in the next chapter...

If you're wondering why Sasuke acts so differently around people in Konoha than in Japan, it's because it's a completely different environment, I mean he doesn't like the girls as youcan tell, but the guys he gets along with... probably because they're not as self-serving and manipulative there as the people he got mixed up with in New York.

(1) You may be wondering if Gaara has a 'thing' for Sasuke, but no. Not in this story, in this story, Gaara genuinly cares for Sasuke in a strictly non-lover way. But he is Gaara's most precious person.

(2) Okay, no kidding, this freaking movie scared the living shit out of me. I love scary movies, and out of all of them that I have seen (which is quite a few) this is the only one to officially freak me out. I hate dolls and clowns, and wtf! This movie decided to put them both in one!-shivers-

And by the way, I don't hate Ten-Ten at all, I dislike Sakura and Ino, but I actually kind of like Ten-Ten. She's one of my favorite girl characters, behind Temari of course. But it fits the story if she and Sasuke hate each other, so sorry Ten-Ten!

Now, things between Neji and Sasuke will take off soon, because Gaara's helping and we know that when he commits to a cause he sticks to it, especially concerning our Sasu-chan! I just didn't want it to seem like one of those stories where they meet and automatically Neji converts to gayness and they immediately fall in love. Sasuke's too screwed up and shy to actually just go for it, and Neji is supposedly 'straight' right now. So Neji will be questioning his sexuality and he will have to work that out before he and Sasu-chan get together. But don't worry, they'll get to each other some how, then Neji will have to fight to keep him!

Wow, I gave him a lot to do huh?

Please, please, please review! You have no clue how much it makes me smile to have people tell me that they enjoy my writing, and I need that support right now!

Thank you! And remember to add your support to NejiSasu fanfics if you like this story!


	5. Chapter 5

Okay so here's the deal…

I've been ridiculously busy, what with SIX AP classes, college applications, scholarship applications and essays, and working three to four days a week, it's been very difficult to do what I love.

Not to mention my mother's recent battle with breast cancer, and now my aunt who is battling the same vicious disease.

AND let's not forget the drama happening in my social circle for the past year and a half!

I gonna level with you, it's been a rough year and a half.

With all that said, let me make my point. I need help. While I would like to keep Espoir and my newest Twilight story in my back pocket, if anyone would like to help me co-author Never Too Late, that would be incredible! Just let know and I'll get back to you!

Once again, I'm so sorry for the long wait!


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